Leland, How are things going for you back in North Carolina?  I have been playing some chess here and having good results.  I was introduced to a chess player here who met me at Bagleman's and we played a game. He realized that I was pretty good so he invited me to play in a 4 man tournament on Thursday night with two of his friends. I placed second in the first event and won the second event which led to them inviting me to play on a team for the Costa Rican Team Championship. While playing the team tournament's first round I found out about the San Jose International Open with players from Mexico, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua and other countries. It was a strong field with a Cuban Master taking first place with 8 out or 9 points. I scored 5 out of 9 and was first in my class defeating two class one players along the way. I won a chess book for my efforts and was invited to play in Guatemala in July. The good part is that I still have my chess skills and I still have that fighting, take no draws, spirit. I keep my chess skills honed by playing rapid chess on the internet just about every day. I use ICC (International Chess Club) and Chess.com but do not restrict my practice to this alone. I use Chessbase 9 and Fritz to sharpen my openings and now I am really starting to study the end game.  I am looking forward to playing at the club when I am back in Charlotte. Jon Pietras *************************************************************** Jon: It's great to hear from you. I'm doing just fine playing golf as often as possible. Hardly work!? Look, everybody knows that the typical CCC Class "A" player is equal to a Costa Rican Master!! LOL I'm glad that you are back into OTB competition. I know you always gave me fits! Take care of your business and hurry home. We all look forward to seeing and competing with you soon! Leland